


Mini-Fic Collection

by Chisotahn



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 13:02:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18851605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chisotahn/pseuds/Chisotahn
Summary: A collection of short pieces written in response to prompts from Typetrigger and from prompt memes on Tumblr. Mostly Souji/Yosuke with a dash of Chie/Yukiko, ranging from pure fluff to bad-end angst to one-shot AUs.





	1. Missing

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! These little stories (written from 2012-2014) have all been posted on Tumblr before, and I'm now archiving them here for safe keeping. If I do prompts again in the future, this collection will grow a bit. Each chapter is its own individual story.
> 
> Updates and info on my writing and WiPs can be found on https://www.pillowfort.social/skysinger - I am no longer active on Tumblr.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Souyo, roleswap/arcanaswap". Written in November 2014.

“How the hell did you even handle this?” Yosuke stared at him wanly, looking haggard and worn down. Souji forced down the irrational surge of jealousy and looked at the mug of tea in his hands instead. “I mean, it’s like… it’s  _noisy_ , partner, and I just…”

"Well, I didn’t get all of them dumped into my head at once,” Souji said quietly. “It was a few at a time, here and there. Not the same thing.” He could practically feel the Velvet Key in Yosuke’s pocket, and something in him wanted to tear the thing away from Yosuke and go shout at the blank wall in the Shopping District until the Velvet Room door deigned to show itself to him again.

But he’d screwed up. He’d thrown Namatame in the TV, over Yosuke’s strident objections, because Nanako was dead and the only way he could see to justice was over Namatame’s quite literal dead body. “I would’ve thought you could see that, since you lost Saki,” he’d spat at Yosuke, and they’d nearly come to blows right there.

The Velvet Key had vanished the day they found Namatame’s body, and later that night Yosuke had nearly pounded down the door to the house with panic in his eyes and the Key clutched in his fist.

The peace they had now was beyond fragile. Souji could barely look at his boyfriend any more, feeling the loss of Nanako doubly now that he didn’t even have her Personas in his mind any more. Yosuke hadn’t  _earned_  them the way Souji had. He’d just been a convenient second choice.

Souji took a long sip of tea to try and drown the rising bile in his throat. He had to keep this together long enough to catch the real culprit. Maybe then he’d be able to look at Yosuke without feeling envy and loss sweep through him like a wave, along with the relentless knowledge that he’d been wrong.

That he was no better than the person they were chasing. The one they had to find before it was too late.

The brush of Yosuke’s fingers against the back of his hand made him flinch, and he looked up to see Yosuke giving him a concerned look. “You okay, partner?” There had been a barely-audible pause before the endearment, almost as if Yosuke had been afraid to use it.

“… I’ll be fine,” Souji lied, forcing a smile onto his face.


	2. Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Souyo, How to Train Your Dragon AU". Written in November 2014.

“Okay, look. Could you maybe -  _maybe_  - tell that thing to quit spitting lightning at me?!” Yosuke pointed sharply at Izanagi; the armored drake gave him a sidelong look and swished his tail, a faint warning crackle of blue sparks lancing off the long spines on the end. “See?  _See?!_  He’s thinking about it  _right now!_ ”

Souji smothered a laugh. “I think he’s just jealous.”

Boyfriend and dragon alike made identical annoyed  _huff_  sounds, much to Souji’s amusement. “Geez, come on,” Yosuke muttered, turning faintly red and turning back to his own dragon. Jiraiya had piled his long body into a neat circular coil and was already snoring. “Lot of help you are,” Yosuke added, poking Jiraya with one accusing finger.

Jiraiya cracked open one yellow eye and let out a long sigh that blew Yosuke’s hair back into a wild snarl. “Hey! No! Bad!” Yosuke groaned, running both his hands through his hair and wincing as his fingers caught on various tangles. “Move to the country, they said. You can be a dragon rider, they said. They didn’t mention that all the dragons were  _assholes_ , damnit.”

Souji chuckled and moved to tug Yosuke into a hug; the other boy struggled half-heartedly for a moment before relaxing into Souji’s embrace with a soft sigh of his own. “I’m glad you came here, though,” Souji said quietly.

"… Yeah. Me too,” Yosuke admitted.

Then he yelped, jerking upright and digging his fingers into Souji’s sides. “He just did it again!!”

Souji looked over Yosuke’s shoulder to see that Izanagi had his best  _poor, innocent dragon_  face on. “There’s enough of me for both of you,” he said, pointedly, raising one eyebrow at his dragon. “Stop.”

Izanagi grumbled, then settled down again. Souji suppressed a sigh. This was going to take some work…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still think this would be cute to write more of, though I have no plot in mind. Just dragon shenanigans.


	3. Enter Through the Tear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Enter through the tear." Souyo mashed up with some concepts from Bioshock Infinite. Written in September 2014.

It had seemed like such a simple thing at the time. The tears were there to be used, right? People used them all the time - like windows, little gaps through which fascinating things could be seen and heard, knowledge stolen from elsewhere.

But Souji could open them up until they became doors. The possibilities were infinite. So, somewhere, there had to be an Inaba where Saki Konishi hadn’t ended up dead, her body draped over a skyline tower. It only made sense, right?

Now, Yosuke regretted asking with every fiber of his being.

He hadn’t been thinking clearly, that much was obvious - sobbing into Souji’s shoulder, babbling about missing her and wanting to apologize and everything else, and somehow that had turned into begging, pleading with Souji for just one chance at absolution. So some Saki Konishi, somewhere, could hear him say  _I’m sorry_  and… then what?

And yet Souji had listened to him. Stupid,  _stupid_ , but he’d known before he asked that it would be tempting - a chance to really test, really stretch to see what Souji could do, what his abilities could mean. And Souji always seemed to have everything together, too. Surely that meant nothing could go wrong.

He’d been so naive. Maybe Souji had been too, but that was worlds ago.

Once they’d stepped through that first tear, it hadn’t taken long to find a Saki that was alive. What neither of them had expected was the confused stutter of her words, the slow drip of blood from her nose. The way she reached out her hands to touch things that weren’t there, at least in that world.

It had been enough to send Yosuke reeling into an alley to lose his lunch, consumed hours ago in a different universe. A universe they very likely wouldn’t see again, because every way ‘home’ Souji opened took them somewhere wrong. At first, the changes had been subtle, so subtle that they’d happily thought they were home until a few hours later, when Yosuke’s mother had returned from shopping and promptly fainted at the sight of him.

He’d been dead in that world, evidently, according to the newspaper clipping Yosuke had finally found in front of the family shrine after his mother’s collapse. He’d fallen off the edge of the Samegawa Park six months ago. An utterly avoidable tragedy. They’d gone through the first likely tear Souji had found after that. And then another. And another, and…

Well, such tiny changes as 'alive’ or 'dead’ seemed ridiculous now. So trite, given that they were now huddled behind a tiny scrap of a broken building barely held stable on its floats, the sky gone livid red and black around them. Souji was asleep, curled into a corner that was sheltered from the wind, exhausted by the effort of forcing open tear after tear.

And Yosuke didn’t know what he wanted other than safety and sleep, or how to find his way to a world that might hold something better than this. He wasn’t even sure how long they’d been doing this, fleeing from town to town, some versions floating, some grounded, some shattered. Everything was blurred. Souji was his one constant.

And, heaven help him, he’d started all this for some form of absolution, in memory of someone else he’d once loved, or thought he had… of someone completely different than the silver-haired boy sleeping in front of him, his face smeared with the dust and ashes of a hundred versions of Inaba.

And it was stupid,  _beyond_ stupid to be sitting here on the edge of a broken city thinking about this, watching the slow rise and fall of Souji’s chest and wondering why he hadn’t been happy with what had been in front of him the whole time. Why 'redemption’ had been so important that he’d been willing to risk so much.

Why he hadn’t been paying attention to the way Souji held him when he cried.

Maybe Souji could find a world where Yosuke Hanamura wasn’t an idiot.

The wind picked up, and the fragile bit of safety they’d managed to find lurched sickeningly.  _Shit._ Yosuke swallowed, hard, then bent down to shake Souji awake. “Souji, wake up, partner, we gotta go-”

The floor bucked under him, and he went down with a hiss. Souji snapped awake under him, his eyes wide with sudden adrenaline. A bit of the floor crumbled away into the void. “Go where?” Souji said, his voice low and raspy.

“There’s a skyli-  _fuck_ ,” Yosuke swore, staring up and seeing nothing but red and black sky. Well, there  _had_  been a skyline. He was pretty sure it had been here, unless it had been a world or two back? Maybe? Maybe not? Panic snapped through him as he looked frantically around them. There wasn’t another structure for at least a hundred feet in any direction. Shit.  _Shit._  This was it, they were done for-

Souji grabbed his wrist. “Come on,” he said, grimly, and jumped.

“Partner, wait-” Yosuke yelped, then bit back a scream as Souji’s momentum dragged him off the edge too. He flailed for a moment before straightening out, stabilizing, the way every child of the sky was taught to fall just in case. He grabbed Souji’s wrist, too, and held on with all his strength.

He saw Souji grit his teeth and make a sharp, straining gesture with his free hand, and the sky below them tore open. “Wait, are you su-” Yosuke shouted, but the wind stole his words away and the tear swallowed them like a mouth.

They hit something with a crash that sent a stab of pain through Yosuke’s ribcage, and he wheezed and struggled for breath - but whatever they’d landed on seemed solid, and likely to remain so. Above him was a slanted wooden roof, with reassuringly normal sunshine visible through the cracks.

“… Souji?” he said weakly, rolling to one side. His hand was still clamped around Souji’s wrist.

Souji was breathing hard and shaking, but there was a glitter of determination in his eyes when he raised his head. “We’ll try this one,” Souji managed after a moment. “And we’ll see how it goes.”

Yosuke just nodded, though his throat ached. What choice did they have, at this point? He slowly released Souji’s wrist, finger by finger, the joints and muscles stiff with strain. Everything hurt, and he was pretty sure one of his ribs was broken. Maybe it would’ve been better to just let it end, tumbling through that red-and-black sky until they hit the ground.

But that fatal resignation must have shown on his face, because Souji grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “No,” Souji said sharply. “ _No._ ”

Yosuke stared at him for a moment, then leaned forward, resigned, until their foreheads touched. “Okay, partner,” he whispered, giving in, letting the blessed numbness of blind trust suffuse him.


	4. Christmas Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No prompt for this one, just some quick post-game Souyo fluff. Written in December 2014.

Souji sighed and settled back on the couch, a book in his hands; the thing was open to somewhere near the middle, and he couldn’t remember a single word of what he’d just been reading.

Christmas Eve, and he was alone - not that this hadn’t ever happened before; he could remember lots of December 24ths in his childhood that had been spent just like this, reading a book on the couch or his futon, though it hadn’t ever bothered him before. His parents had gone on another trip, just for a few days this time, leaving him to watch the house.

He hadn’t minded - or at least, he hadn’t up until now. There was an unpleasant icy rain pattering at the windows; Tatsumi Port Island was too close to the sea to get proper snow. But it was nice and warm inside, and he had the TV on in the background, a good book in his hands, and even a cake - so what if he had nobody to share it with? Cake was cake, and he’d been bored. It didn’t matter, did it?

Apparently, it did.

Souji dropped the book on the couch next to him, and shifted enough to free his cell phone from his pocket. It took only a second to tab to Yosuke’s number in his address book, and Souji closed his eyes as he listened to the phone ring… and ring… and ring some more.

_Hey, this is Yosuke Hanamura - leave me a message, and I’ll call you back, okay? Thanks!_

Souji hung up immediately when it clicked over to voicemail; better to do that than leave some kind of lonely, lovestruck drivel that’d only make Yosuke roll his eyes and chide him for being  _so cheesy, dude, quit doing that!_ next time they talked. But where the hell was Yosuke, anyway?

The thought that he might be with someone else - it was Christmas Eve, after all - reared its head for the millionth time that night, and Souji shoved it away. That was ridiculous; anyway, he _trusted_  Yosuke-

The sound of the doorbell made Souji almost drop his cell phone; he sighed, irritated at himself, and shoved his phone back in his pocket before padding across the living room to the door. A check through the peephole revealed only the hazy, wavy surface of an umbrella, the identity of its owner hidden under the warping curves of clear plastic; a moment later, the person on the other side knocked, hard.

Souji quickly unlocked the door and opened it a crack. “Yes?”

“Uh. Merry Christmas?”

Souji very nearly banged the door into his own shins in his haste to open it; he’d know that voice anywhere. “What the hell are you doing here?” he managed.

“Freezing my ass off. Can I come inside already?” Yosuke said, huddling under the umbrella, his breath clearly visible in the freezing air. He yelped as Souji grabbed his arm and practically dragged him inside, bumping the umbrella against the doorframe and causing a small cascade of icy water to slosh over them both. “Great, now I’m even wetter. Thanks a lot, partner.”

But Yosuke was smiling as he said it, and a moment later the umbrella was forgotten on the floor as Souji wrapped his arms around Yosuke, heedless of his damp clothing. “You idiot,” he breathed into Yosuke’s ear, and he felt the other boy shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the cold, “at least tell me if you’re going to show up on my doorstep…”

“Then it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Yosuke said with a grin, and stopped Souji’s response with an easy kiss.


	5. Unravel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Unravel." Souyo, fluffy and NSFW. Written in August 2014.

Souji was going to get it. Yosuke knew that much - he just wasn’t sure how. His current tactic was ‘complain incessantly’, though Souji had gotten strangely immune to that ever since they started dating in earnest. Still, Yosuke was going to give it his best shot.

“Come on, partner, that was unfair and you know it,” he repeated, shoving his gloved hands deeper into the pockets of his coat. His breath made a long plume in the cold air. “Why were you on the damn bear’s side, anyway?”

Souji’s scarf was wrapped such that Yosuke couldn’t actually see the other boy’s face, but the sly smile was evident in Souji’s voice. “Because he needed help more than you did. He’s never even seen snow before.” He stepped neatly over a pile of plowed snow that had partially tumbled over the sidewalk.

“Oh, yeah, and the dirty slush I saw in the city  _totally_  counted as snow,” Yosuke muttered, kicking at the snow in disgust. “You are the biggest jerk, you know that?”

“Mmmhm.” Souji seemed completely unruffled as he stopped in front of his house, taking a moment to knock the snow off his boots. “You wanna come in? You look cold.”

“Gee, I wonder why that would be? Oh, maybe it’s because  _someone_ held me down so  _some bear_  could dump a ton of snow down my back?” Yosuke shot back - but that didn’t stop him from following Souji up the walk to the door, pausing to brush snow off his hair and clothing. “You owe me big, partner. Just you wait.”

“I tremble in fear,” Souji said, opening the door and stepping inside.

Yosuke rolled his eyes and stepped in after him, closing the door behind them both.“I thought my fingers were gonna fall off, dude.”

“And wouldn’t that be tragic,” Souji said, his sly grin fully visible this time - visible, and suggestive.

Yosuke blushed, then scowled. “Dude, don’t - don’t say things like that, partner, geez,” he grumbled, shucking off his coat and leaving it on the floor to spite Souji, though that barely counted as revenge. He rubbed at his arms to warm them up, then brightened. “Hey, where’s your uncle and Nanako?”

“Playdate with some of her friends, I think?” Souji picked Yosuke’s discarded coat up with a pointed look. “I don’t know when they’ll be back, though. Could be any minute now.”

“Damn it.” Yosuke made a face and threw himself down onto one of the pillows by the kotatsu. Now he was freezing  _and_  vaguely horny with no hope of resolution.

Souji sighed, then walked over and turned the kotatsu on. “I can warm you up a little bit, at least.” Souji fluffed the kotatsu’s blanket over Yosuke’s lap, then wrapped his arms around Yosuke from behind, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “How’s that? Better?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Yosuke said, leaning back into the hug and folding his hands over Souji’s own. “You’re still a jerk, though… man, Teddie’s ruthless.” He squirmed a bit, as if he could still feel snow and ice sliding down his back. “Ugh, just thinking about it - brrr. You going to get some tea?”

“Yeah, I can,” Souji said, squeezing Yosuke again before releasing him. “Just a minute, okay?”

“Mmhm. I’m going to warm up properly.” Yosuke shifted positions as soon as Souji got to his feet. He gave the kotatsu a thoughtful look, then moved, lifting up the blanket and dropping to his hands and knees, squirming about until he’d kicked his way entirely underneath the kotatsu, lit only by the warm glow of the safety-caged heating elements. “Ahhh. That’s better.”

There was a long pause, during which Yosuke could only hear Souji at work in the kitchen, the soft hiss of hot water being poured and the clink of tea mugs. Lazily, Yosuke lifted up the blanket just enough for him to watch Souji - or, more accurately, to see the expression on Souji’s face when the other boy realized where he’d gone.

It didn’t take long; only a few seconds later, Souji turned with a mug of tea in each hand; his soft smile turned into a look of utter confusion. “Yosuke?”

“Under here,” Yosuke called out, waving one hand out from under the kotatsu. “Told you I was going to get warm.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Souji sighed, and Yosuke grinned. It wasn’t often that he actually managed to confuse his boyfriend. “How’re you going to drink your tea if you’re under there?”

“I’ll do it later,” Yosuke replied, shifting so he was laying flat on his stomach, his head propped up on one hand. “I’m enjoying actually being warm.”

Souji let out a long-suffering sigh, then came over to the table, sitting down in his usual spot and tugging the blanket over his legs. “This is silly. It looks like I’m having tea and talking to myself.”

“Aw, nobody’s gonna know. It’ll be our secret,” Yosuke grinned. Impulsively, he reached out his free hand and drew one finger up Souji’s thigh. “I like it under here. It’s cozy.”

Souji twitched under his touch, making one of those little noises that shot straight to Yosuke’s groin. “Yosuke-”

“Hmm…”  _That_  was interesting. Yosuke’s grin broadened, and he put his hand out again, delicately walking his fingertips up the inside of Souji’s thigh, finishing with a quick caress. Souji let out a shuddering breath. Oh,  _yes_. This was a  _fantastic_  revenge plan.

Yosuke twisted around a bit so that he could properly cup Souji through his pants. Souji made another extremely interesting noise, and Yosuke felt him begin to harden under his fingers. “ _Damn it_ , Yosuke-”

“I can stop,” he said, as innocently as he could manage, taking his hand away entirely.

Souji squirmed, bumping the kotatsu. “Come on, Yosuke, you can’t start something like that and not… damn it…”

“Say please?” Yosuke gently dragged one finger up the general vicinity of Souji’s rapidly hardening cock.

Souji let out a most definitely indecent groan, and a moment later Yosuke heard the sound of Souji’s forehead hitting the table. “Please,” he said, his voice muffled, and there was a decided undertone of  _and you’re going to get it later_  present in that single word.

“Hmmm…”

“Yosuke!”

Yosuke smothered a laugh. “Okay, okay!” He reached for Souji again, this time unbuttoning Souji’s pants and tugging first at the zipper and then at Souji’s underwear. A few quick strokes brought his boyfriend to full hardness, and Souji shuddered, making the kotatsu tremble a bit too. Yosuke let out a hissing breath of his own and wished he wasn’t in a position that made reciprocation basically impossible… but he was fully committed to this plan now. He swallowed, hitched his hips reflexively against the floor just for a little bit of friction, and went to work.

“What I  _should_  do is just leave you here like this,” he informed Souji, stroking up and down the length of Souji’s cock as his boyfriend continued to twitch and shake and make fascinating sounds. “That’d teach you not to pick sides against me.” And he was definitely getting hard too, now,  _fuck,_  but he could deal with that later if need be. “What do you think?”

Souji’s breathing was ragged. “Yosuke, you-”

And then a familiar sound froze Yosuke’s hands in place.

The sound of the front door opening.

Souji sat up so quickly that he nearly kicked Yosuke in the head. “H-hi,” he managed, and Yosuke stared at Souji’s cock as if he’d never seen it before. Fuck.  _Fuck_. He shifted as imperceptibly as he could, in hopes that whoever had just come in,  _oh god please don’t be Nanako, oh god_ wouldn’t realize he was under there.

“Oh, good, you’re home already,” aaaaaaand that was Dojima,  _damnit_. He heard heavy boots stomping on the floor and cringed. “I was going to leave you a note. Yamada-san invited us over for dinner with her family - you too, if you want to come.”

“Uh…” Yosuke had never heard Souji so off-balance, which would have been delightful if they weren’t teetering on the edge of the abyss. “I think I’ll stay here, actually. I’m, uh. Not feeling so good. I guess I was out in the cold a little too long.”

“Take care of yourself,” Dojima said, sternly.

“I will,” Souji promised, and Yosuke heard the sound of him picking up his cup of tea.

Dojima paused. “Is someone else here? Who’s the other cup for?”

“Uh. Yosuke… had to leave,” Souji said, quickly.

The pause that followed was the most horrible experience of Yosuke’s life.

“Well, extra tea’s good for a cold,” Dojima said, finally. “Get to bed early.”

“I’ll do that. Have a good time.”

And then the front door slid shut again, and the sound of the lock clicking was the most amazing thing Yosuke had ever heard.

“Oh my  _god_ , Yosuke,” Souji said in a voice caught between exasperation and desire.

“I didn’t think he’d come home that soon!” Yosuke hissed.

“Well, now we know they won’t be back for a while,” Souji said, and a moment later the kotatsu blanket flipped up and Yosuke found himself being practically dragged out from underneath it. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Uhhhhhh.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I have a couple ideas,” Souji said, and the look on his face was simultaneously terrifying and  _hot as hell_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one continues to delight me, years later, because it's so ridiculous.


	6. Crumbs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Crumbs." Time-skip established relationship Souyo fluff. Written in July 2014.

Yosuke was entirely certain the cake had to be jolted to crumbs by now. He could tell that the box’s corners were badly dented even through the plastic bag, and he was a little scared to look inside, and why had he decided it would be a good idea to bring Souji a cake, anyway?

The stupidest little giddy thrill washed over him again at the thought of Souji. In about ten minutes the train would arrive at the station, and his partner would be waiting for him. They hadn’t seen each other in person for more or less eight months, not since Golden Week.

Yosuke tugged at his scarf self-consciously and braced himself as the train went around another curve, making everyone sway on their feet. The train windows were frosted over on the edges, but he could still see the brighter lights of the city. Souji’s current home was too far from Inaba for regular visits, but damned if he was going to not see his boyfriend for an entire year.

Someone jostled him, and Yosuke winced as the cake box dented a little more. His feet hurt - the earlier trains he’d been able to sit down on, but this one was an express crowded with commuters. Combine that with a crush of people heading into the city for Christmas dates, and it was no wonder he was going to present Souji with a box of mangled crumbs.

After what seemed like forever, the station announcement chimed through the car and everyone started surging for the doors, even though the train hadn’t stopped yet; Yosuke hung on for dear life and tried to shield the cake box with his body. Finally, the train lurched to a stop and the doors hissed open, and Yosuke found himself carried along with the crowd through the doors and out onto the platform.

… Shit, he’d forgotten how large big-city train stations were. It felt like there were people covering every inch of floor space. How the hell was he going to find Souji in all this chaos? He wove his way through the crowd to shelter next to a trash can and pulled out his phone.

“Looking for someone?”

Yosuke looked up so quickly he nearly dropped his phone - and there was Souji, smiling more brightly than Yosuke thought he’d ever seen him. He looked… good,  _god_ ,  _more_  than good. “What is it with you and trash cans, anyway?” Souji continued.

“You shut up,” Yosuke informed him, and shoved his phone back into his pocket so he could focus on getting Souji into his arms where the other boy belonged. He flinched, though, as something came between them with a grunch. “Oh, damnit-”

“What’s this?” Souji reached down and pulled the cake box out of the plastic bag.

“Uh. Something stupid. Here, let me just throw it-” Yosuke said quickly, but Souji twisted to keep the box out of his reach. “Come on, Souji!”

“Hey, if you brought this here at great expense and effort, I want to see what it is,” Souji said with a sly grin. “Let’s see, now…” Yosuke almost couldn’t bear to watch as Souji opened the box and peered inside. “A cake?”

“Yeah, well,” Yosuke muttered. “It’s Christmas, so… I thought I’d try making you something for once. I dunno how good it was to start with, though, and it’s probably a pile of crumbs now, so…”

“No, it’s not that bad,” Souji assured him, tilting the box so Yosuke could see inside - and there was his cake, the icing rather smeared, but overall it was in one piece. “You made this?”

Yosuke felt his cheeks heating up and looked away. “Out of a box, dude, it’s not that amazing-”

And then Souji was kissing him, and he had enough time to make a small, surprised noise before his boyfriend deepened the kiss to the point that talking was absolutely impossible.

“Dude, what was that for?” he complained (though not very strenuously) when Souji finally let him go. This was basically the definition of a public place, and there were so many people around but-

“I missed you,” Souji said, simply, and reached for Yosuke’s free hand, twining his fingers through Yosuke’s own. “And I can’t wait to eat the cake.”

“Geez,” Yosuke sighed - but, as they made their way through the station, he didn’t let go of Souji’s hand. Not even once.


	7. Imposter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Imposter." Souyo, December bad-ending. Written in July 2014.

The fog was chokingly thick, filling up the living room inexorably, hissing under every door and seeping past the window glass. Souji was shaking as he tried the house phone again. Their cell phones hadn’t been getting reception properly ever since Naoto’s call just after midnight-

Yosuke swallowed hard and tried not to think about that. He felt hollowed out, dazed, like every fog-laden breath just pushed  _him_  out of the way a little more. He wondered distantly what would be left once he filled up with fog entirely.

_Oh, I think you know._

Yosuke’s eyes snapped open, and a thrill of panic shot through him as his hands tingled and went numb. He sat down on the couch, hard, as the numbness claimed his limbs.  _Souji_ , he tried to say, but the name didn’t make it past his throat.

 _Too little, too late,_  his Shadow said unsympathetically, and Yosuke’s body moved into a languid stretch without any input from him. “Hey, partner,” it said with a laugh.

Souji slumped and dropped the phone back onto its charger. “Still nothing, I can’t…”

“You really fucked up this time, didn’t you?”

Souji flinched as if he’d been struck, then turned towards Yosuke, his face pale. “Why would y-” And then the other boy’s eyes widened, and he slowly got up from the chair he’d been sitting on, slipping into a defensive stance.

“Yosuke-”

“Yes?” the Shadow purred, utterly ignoring all Yosuke’s desperate attempts to regain control.

Souji just stared at him, his jaw working for a moment. “Why?” he said, finally, and the sound was the most broken thing Yosuke had ever heard his partner say.

“Because you fucked it up,” the Shadow said cheerfully. “Better be careful, partner - they’re  _all_  going to be coming for you.”

Souji flinched again, then drew in a sharp breath. “Give him back.”

“Aw, don’t you remember? He’s me, and I’m him. Does it really matter which one you get?” The Shadow plopped down on the chair Souji had abandoned and grinned at him.

“When it’s like this… yes,” Souji said, quietly. Then he tensed, clenching his fist tightly in a familiar gesture.

“Oh, really? I don’t think that’s going to wor-” the Shadow began, and then lightning crashed down out of thin air, jolting through Yosuke’s body. The Shadow lost control, and Yosuke lunged mentally, dragging his Shadow back.

 _I am thou, thou art I,_ damnit _Susano-o-_

And then Yosuke was sprawled out on the floor, feeling exhausted and singed but in control once more. He felt frantically for Susano-o and found it in its proper place, though he had the oddest sense that the Persona’s bladed mask was hiding that predatory Shadow-grin. Yes, he’d regained control… but for how long?

“Yosuke,” Souji said, trembling, and Yosuke found himself being gathered up in the other boy’s arms.  _Safe_ , even if he knew it was temporary.

“It’s okay, partner, it’s me, I’m here,” he managed, relaxing into Souji’s embrace with a shiver. “It’s okay now, I’m -  _we’re_  under control..”

“Thank god - I guessed that if Shadows were active, Personas might be too.” Souji took a deep, shuddering breath. “If that hadn’t worked, I would’ve been…”

“You’re not alone,” Yosuke said as fiercely as he could manage. “You’re not. We’ll take care of this, partner. Somehow.” Though he didn’t have any idea where to start. If the rest of the team were in his condition or worse, then…

“I don’t know what to do,” Souji said, his words coming in a rapid, rising stream. “I  _can’t_  - if everyone is - I can’t be alone, I  _can’t_ , can’t fix it, it’s all broken-”

“Hey,” Yosuke said sharply, sudden fear jolting through him. “Souji, come on, get a hold of yourself-” The other boy’s grip released, and his hands slid free of Yosuke’s sides; Yosuke made a distressed noise and pulled himself upright, turning to face Souji. “Come on, I need you with me-” He reached for his partner’s face and brushed aside Souji’s bangs. A tender gesture. Familiar.

The eyes underneath were out of focus, lost.

They were also turning yellow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking back, this one is pretty clearly a prototype for In Shadows Rise - similar mood, similar concepts if executed differently. I prefer the direction I took in ISR, but this one's still fun! For a given value of fun, anyway.


	8. A Castle, A Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "A Castle, A Crown". Chie/Yukiko, April. Written in July 2014.

When the text arrived, Chie didn’t even have to think. Yukiko needed her, and that was that. No other thought necessary. It had been true for years, and even what Yuki had just been through didn’t slow her steps at all.

There was still a small, tenacious group of reporters ringing the front of the Amagi Inn, so Chie went in the back way; all the inn staff knew her, and it wasn’t too hard for her to give them the big, innocent eyes that she and Yukiko had been so good at deploying when they were younger. Yukiko had always been better at it, of course, but it was enough to get her into the family quarters and up to Yukiko’s room.

It wasn’t until she was standing in front of the door that rational thought caught up to Chie, and everything they’d both just been through came crashing down - the TV world, the Shadows, especially everything Yukiko’s Shadow had said. Not to mention Chie’s own, but she didn’t want to think about that too hard right now. She took a deep breath and rapped on the doorframe. “Hey, it’s me.”

“Oh, good,” came Yukiko’s relieved voice from inside.

Chie pushed the door open and slipped inside. Yukiko was lying on her futon, the covers pulled up practically to her chin; her face was pale, and she looked more exhausted than Chie had seen her in years. At some point, Yukiko had developed this ability to look polished and elegant no matter what was happening, while Chie still tripped and fell at every opportunity. Right now, though, Yukiko looked a little more like the girl Chie had grown up with. A little more… herself.

Yukiko grimaced. “I know, I look horrible.”

“No, you don’t,” Chie said, plopping down right next to the futon. “Anyway, you just got back yesterday, you’re allowed to look like crap.”

“Thanks,” Yukiko said dryly, but she smiled, just a little. “Um.”

“Um,” Chie agreed, and the room fell into the most awkward sort of silence imaginable, the two of them just staring at each other, listening to the echoes of what the Shadow had said.

“I… I wanted to thank you,” Yukiko said finally, shifting the blankets aside so she could sit up. “For coming to save me. And to apologize for what my Sh… no, for what  _I_  said…”

“Well, you can’t say you didn’t mean it, because that’s not how those things work,” Chie said, making a face, but she put one hand on Yukiko’s and squeezed gently. “It’s okay, Yuki. We made it through, just like always.”

Yukiko looked away, though she didn’t move her hand. “I still needed to be saved. You… you and Yosuke and Souji, and even that Teddie creature… without the four of you, I would have been completely helpless. I  _was_  completely helpless.” Her tone turned bitter, self-depreciating. “Just a poor, pathetic princess waiting for someone else to rescue her.”

“Hey,” Chie said, sharply, squeezing Yukiko’s hand quite a bit tighter, until Yukiko winced visibly. “Uh, sorry - but that’s stupid, and you know it. You saved yourself, Yuki… if you hadn’t accepted your Shadow, nothing any of us did would have done any good. It came down to you in the end, and you pulled through. You didn’t need me.”  _Don’t need me_ , something echoed inside her mind, and her free hand clenched into a fist at her side.

Yukiko was quiet for a long moment. “I… saved myself,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.

“You  _did_ , Yuki. So don’t talk to me about being helpless and pathetic, got it?” Belatedly, she realized Yukiko was crying, and scrambled for the tissue box. “Yuki, don’t, please, it’s okay-”

“No, no, it’s not… it’s not like that,” Yukiko said, turning to face Chie again, and this time Chie could see that the other girl was smiling under her tears. “You… you’re right, Chie.”

“Darn right I am,” she said gruffly, tossing the tissue box at Yukiko. “Geez, Yuki-”

And then Yukiko grabbed her hands, squeezing with surprising strength. “But you’re wrong.”

Chie gave her a startled look, then scowled. “I am  _not_ -”

“I  _did_  need you, Chie. I… do need you,” Yukiko said quietly. “I’ve always needed you. And… and that’s okay, isn’t it?”

Chie could feel her cheeks growing pink. “I, um… of course! I’m kind of a crappy prince, but you know I’ll always come when you need me.”

“You’re a  _great_  prince.” For a moment, Yukiko’s hands trembled on hers.

And then Yukiko leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

Chie just stared at her, eyes wide, and they turned beet red together.

“I, uh…” Chie said, finally. Yukiko’s eyes were filling up and oh,  _crap_ was she gonna cry again- no, no, she couldn’t let that happen. Before she could think better of it, Chie leaned forward and kissed her best friend back, this time on the lips, though they smashed their noses together for a moment before Chie figured out that she had to tilt her head.

… Yukiko’s lips were so soft.

When they pulled apart, they were both even redder.

“S-so there,” Chie said.

Yukiko giggled. “Chie…”

“What?” Chie glared at her and folded her arms. So help her, if Yukiko was gonna pull a laughing fit on her now…

But Yukiko’s eyes were bright. “Thank you,” she said.

“I didn’t kiss you because I wanted to make you feel better,” Chie muttered, looking down at the floor. “I kissed you because I meant it. Stupid.”

“I know,” Yukiko said quietly, and kissed her again.


	9. Man With a Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Man with a plan". Silly pre-relationship Souyo fluff. Written in July 2014.

Yosuke rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Don’t worry about a thing, partner - I’ve got a perfect plan. She’ll be swooning over you!”

Souji just nodded, vaguely stunned by Yosuke’s enthusiasm.

“The summer festival is the perfect setup, too - yukatas, snow cones, fireworks, and Risette…” Yosuke’s grin broadened. Briefly, Souji wondered if Yosuke wanted to set him up with Rise in order to live vicariously through Souji.

He kind of hoped not, but he was starting to get a little nervous. “Oh, yeah, absolutely. Perfect,” Souji said quickly, turning away as if to contemplate his wardrobe, but instead pulling out his phone and typing out a quick text with one hand.

“You could kiss her under the fireworks,” Yosuke went on, enthusiastically, and then Souji’s phone rang, thank  _god_.

“Oh, uh… it’s Shu’s mom, you know, the boy I tutor? I better get this - in the other room, you know, it’s confidential and all,” he said, quickly, and hurried out of the room. Once he was out of earshot, he answered the phone.

“Rise, he’s really determined-”

She just giggled. “Don’t you worry about a thing! I’m an expert wing-woman… he’ll be swooning before you know it!”

“… I sure hope so. I just don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“I know,” she said, sympathetically. “But I really don’t think you have anything to worry about, senpai. It might take him a few minutes to get over himself, but after that…” He could hear her smiling and suspected she was making the same expression Yosuke had earlier.

“I hope you’re right.”

“You know I’m always right when it comes to love,” she said impishly. “Just get him there and be yourself!”

“I can do that,” Souji promised, letting out a long, slow breath.

“Then we’ve got this! See you then!”

“Sounds good. See you.” Souji hung up, then leaned against the wall and tried to find his center again. Fighting Shadows was significantly easier than this. In a way, it felt like the stakes were  _lower_  with the Shadows, because he’d never had anything like this before, and the thought of losing it-

“Hey, partner?” Yosuke called, and Souji quickly pushed himself to his feet. “Bad news - you have  _got_  to up your clothes game if you’re going to make it with Risette, dude.”

“But I like greys,” Souji protested, smiling despite himself. He tucked his phone into his pocket and headed back down the hall.

Yosuke sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

“Yeah, probably,” Souji said with a wry grin at his best friend…. hopefully soon to be more than that.

Fingers crossed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is very silly, but I love the idea of Rise being Souji's wingwoman versus an oblivious Yosuke. I also just love Rise and I will never get tired of her.


	10. Driven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Drive". Souyo, more December bad-ending. Written in August 2012.

The fog was everywhere.

It curled through every doorway, past every window, and sat thickly in the lungs; Souji couldn’t remember what it had been like to breathe clean air, not anymore. He was vaguely aware that it hadn’t been  _that_ long since everything had gone to hell, since bright red-and-black had devoured Inaba’s sky, Shadows tearing free of their sleeping hosts and turning this town he’d tried so hard to protect into a waking nightmare.

Adachi’s Magatsu Inaba had been disconcerting, but it had been no more complete than distant silhouettes and stage dressing. This… this was real, and horrible. The fog, sensing his unease, made the scenery flicker around him, the reflections on the inside of his window twisting into cariactures of familiar faces before they faded. He couldn’t remember when he’d last slept. Dreams and reality were too close to really tell, sometimes.

Behind him, Yosuke made a sound; Souji turned, just to make sure everything was all right. Yosuke was curled up in the futon, a smear of Shadow ichor darkening his face.  _Nightmare_ , Souji realized, sliding down to sit on the couch, watching the other boy as Yosuke twitched in his sleep, a soft whine of distress escaping his lips. Souji kept his distance, though - at this point, Yosuke was wound up so tightly that he reacted violently to any sort of sudden movement, whether friend or foe. “Yosuke,” he called out instead. “Yosuke, wake up-”

Yosuke made a startled noise and sat up, shuddering; for a moment, he stared right through Souji, eyes open but unfocused. Then he groaned and collapsed back onto the futon. “Fuck. I’m awake, aren’t I.”

It wasn’t a question, but Souji answered it anyway. “Yeah… welcome back.” He reached back and tugged the curtain closed without looking; the gesture was largely futile, given that the fog was pretty much inescapable, but it wasn’t quite as bad inside buildings as it was outside. “How’re you feeling?”

“Ugh.” Yosuke made a face and rubbed at his eyes; he looked exhausted, but they all were. “Been better -  _fuck_ , Souji, can’t you just tell me I’m dreaming, even if it’s a lie?” Souji had a feeling it was meant as a joke, but there was an odd, pleading undercurrent to the words that told him Yosuke meant it… even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“Sorry,” he murmured, sharp guilt twisting at him once again. He’d failed them, failed the entire town, if not more than that. There was no possible atonement he could make to the people of this town; they were gone, their bodies collapsed whereever they’d been, their Shadows sliding through the fog-shrouded streets, indistiguishable from one another. There hadn’t been enough time… there  _hadn’t_. The Shadows in Magatsu Inaba had been too powerful, and everything had moved too quickly, and with Dojima and Nanako in the hospital, and-

 _Excuses_. Souji closed his eyes, bringing his hands up to rub at his temples - but something wrapped around his wrists, and he instinctively flinched back.

“Hey-” Yosuke sounded vaguely hurt, and Souji realized belatedly that the other boy had gotten up and come over to him; the touch on his wrists had been Yosuke’s fingers.

“Yosuke… damn. Sorry.” He could hear other sounds coming from downstairs, now, sounds he was fairly sure were real and not fog-echoes; the rest of the team had come here as well, where there were no crumpled bodies tucked into beds. Evidently they weren’t the only two awake now. “I wasn’t thinking…”

“I know, I know,” Yosuke said, exasperated. For a moment, Souji thought the other boy was going to leave - but, instead, Yosuke wrapped his arms around Souji, leaning against him heavily. “Just…  _damnit_ , Souji, why… why us? Why  _here_? We worked so hard, and-” Yosuke was shaking now, burying his head against Souji’s shoulder. “I just want to wake the fuck up…”

Souji sighed raggedly and wrapped his arms around Yosuke.  _You failed him, too, the person you cared about most, look what you’ve done to him. To all of them._  “We’ll make it,” he said, knowing the words were empty even as he spoke. “We will. I promi…”

The word died in his throat. Instead, he just held on, bleakly, trying not to think any more. Trying not to hurt.

_Failure._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is... what, the third bad-end minific in this collection? I cannot be stopped, apparently. At least this one was two years before the others!


	11. Playing the Melody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Playing the melody". Souyo, pre-relationship fluff. Written in August 2012.

Souji had never been to Yosuke’s house before - kind of strange, considering how much time they spent together, and how often Yosuke had come over to visit Souji. Given the sheepish, vaguely apologetic expression on Yosuke’s face as the other boy ushered him through the front door, though, Souji thought he understood. The Hanamura house was good-sized, bigger than one would expect for three people (and Teddie). It would be like Yosuke to be embarrassed by it all.

Nobody was home when they entered; Teddie was working a shift at Junes, and wouldn’t be back for some time. Yosuke led him up the stairs hurriedly, as if he could stop Souji from noticing his surroundings by sheer speed. “C'mon, partner, my room’s just up here,” he said quickly, opening a door to the right as they entered the upstairs hallway. “Right here-”

Souji’s first impression was that it was cleaner than he’d expected; he felt a little guilty for the thought, but there it was. “Not bad,” he said, thoughtfully, then turned to Yosuke. “So… where do  _you_  keep the goods?” he asked, deadpan.

The effect was immediate. “Nowhere,” Yosuke said, defensively, crossing his arms and turning an interesting shade of pink. “Uh, I mean… ugh, damnit, that isn’t fair!”

“Of course it is.” Souji grinned at last, then padded over to Yosuke’s haphazardly folded futon and poked at it with one foot. “Under the futon, huh?”

“It is  _not_ ,” Yosuke insisted, though the speed at which he crossed the room and threw himself down on top of the futon rather undercut his words. “C'mon, Souji, seriously!” Souji laughed, retreating; Yosuke sighed and swept one hand through his brown hair. “Sheesh. You think you know a guy…”

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave your sordid secrets alone,” Souji said with a grin, turning his attention to the rest of Yosuke’s room instead. It was bigger than Souji’s own, by quite a bit, and the TV… no wonder Yosuke had easily been able to get his head in there, as he said he’d done after getting his Persona. Souji shook his head, wondering what it’d be like to watch the Midnight Channel on that monster. “It’s neater than I expected, I have to admit.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yosuke grumbled, shifting to sit cross-legged atop the futon. “I clean! It’s that damn bear who makes the biggest mess!”

“Oh, of course.” Not that Souji believed a word of that, but… “So do you actually make him sleep in the closet?” he added, turning towards said closet, with the “Teddie’s Room” sign hanging overhead.

“Dude, he  _wanted to_.” Yosuke made a face. “And he wanted to put that sign up on  _my_  door, so I let him put it up there so he’d shut up about it, y'know? I had to move all kinds of crap around to make room, too… I guess he likes it in there, or whatever. Weirdo. At least he’s happy…”

“Nice of you to do that for him, though,” Souji noted, crouching to poke at an interesting pile of stuff that had gotten shoved behind one closet door. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that Yosuke had gone faintly pink again.

“Eh, damn bear,” the other boy muttered. “Are you done with the inspection, already?!”

Souji chuckled. “Yeah, almost… now I get why the room’s clean. You just shoved it all in-”

Something shifted under his hand, unexpectedly - and that was all the warning Souji got before the pile gave way, and a small but significant avalanche of stuff slid out onto the floor. “Dude, I  _just_  cleaned that up,” Yosuke groaned, flopping over onto his side.

“That doesn’t count as cleaning,” Souji said, but he had the grace to sound sheepish. “Sorry, man. I’ll help you put it all back.”

“Yeah, you better,” the other boy grumbled, finally abandoning the futon and coming over to prod at the avalanche himself. “Geez…”

Something caught Souji’s eye; he pushed the door aside a little more, ignoring Yosuke’s protest as the movement caused another mini-avalanche. “Is that a guitar case?”

“Oh, huh, that’s where that ended up,” Yosuke muttered, leaning over to tug the case free. “I was wondering about that. Sheesh.”

“I didn’t know you played,” Souji said, curiously, picking up a few candy wrappers that Yosuke had apparently shoved into the pile of stuff instead of throwing away. “Though I guess those callouses on your fingers can’t all come from your knives, huh…”

“Yeah, well… I haven’t, not lately. Too busy with everything else.” Yosuke sat back on his heels, opening the case and running one hand over the instrument. “I’m not that great at it, anyway.” He lifted the guitar free with surprising gentleness, settling it against him in a movement clearly long-practiced.

Souji couldn’t help but grin. “Play something for me?” he asked; Yosuke looked up, startled. “You know, just to keep me entertained while I take care of this stuff. Unless you’d rather help?”

Yosuke looked conflicted, looking from the mess to the guitar and back again. “I, um… okay. Sure, partner.” He brushed his fingers over the strings, frowning slightly at the sound that emerged. “Give me a second - damn thing’s a little out of tune-”

Souji nodded, leaning to pull Yosuke’s trash can over and deposit the wrappers inside - the trash can was pretty much empty, which was a little frightening when he thought about it. “Sure, take your time. You got any other mysteries in here?” he added, tugging a rumpled t-shirt out of the pile.

“Hmph.” Yosuke stuck his tongue out, then went back to the business of tuning his guitar; after a moment, Souji stopped what he was doing, vaguely fascinated. Yosuke didn’t tend to really  _focus_  on many things, other than their battles inside the TV, and Souji was much too busy with everything else to pay any special attention to Yosuke at times like that. This, though… this was different. Yosuke was still, lips slightly parted as he hummed the notes, just barely audible. His fingers ghosted lightly over the strings, his head dipped down to catch the soft sounds the guitar produced.

… And, of course, when he looked up and saw he’d attracted Souji’s attention, he made a face. “What?”

“Nothing,” Souji said, quickly, hiding a faint smile. “Just start whenever you’re ready?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yosuke muttered, ducking his head again, though this time it seemed to be more out of embarrassment than of needing to hear the guitar. Souji went back to picking through the pile, tossing any clothes he found into Yosuke’s laundry basket - also empty, of course.

When the first louder note finally rippled through the room, Souji looked up, only for Yosuke to squawk at him. “Dude, don’t… don’t  _look_  at me, geez… I don’t really, um. Play. For other people. So…”

Souji just grinned, obediently looking away and focusing back on the pile; after a moment, he heard Yosuke let out a long breath and begin to play once more. At first, the melody was slow and halting, Yosuke muttering to himself under his breath as he corrected his fingering. As he went on, though, Yosuke seemed to gain more confidence - and, after a few more notes, Souji even recognized the song. It was one of Yosuke’s favorites, though Souji didn’t know the name.

The other boy was humming faintly now, just under the line of the guitar’s melody. Under the pretense of grabbing another wadded-up shirt from the closet, Souji risked a peek back. Yosuke’s eyes were closed, his hands moving over the strings with the ease of long practice - clearly amateur, but he’d worked hard for this. That much was obvious. After a moment, Souji closed his eyes as well, leaning back against the closet door, just listening.

At last, the final notes trickled into silence, and Souji heard Yosuke clear his throat, awkwardly. “Um. Yeah…”

“That was great,” Souji said, opening his eyes and smiling at Yosuke. The other boy was pink-faced again, frowning at him - almost as if Yosuke had forgotten Souji was there. “No, seriously. You could be really good at that, if you tried.”

“Yeah, well,” Yosuke mumbled, glancing away in the way he only did when he was secretly pleased, but didn’t want to show it. “I’m really out of practice, partner.”

“You should play more,” Souji said, firmly. “Okay, maybe not now, but later - when all this is over.”

“You think so?” Yosuke sounded vaguely perplexed. “Really?”

“Really,” Souji assured him. “You’re way, way better at that than… oh, say… cleaning,” he added, with a sly grin.

Instantly, Yosuke scowled. “Hey, now, who made this mess? Pretty sure it was you,” he accused; still, he put the guitar back into its case with obvious gentleness before launching himself at the pile of stuff, coming up with a wadded-up pair of socks in one hand. “I put all this shit away!”

“And nearly buried your musical career in the process,” Souji objected, bringing his hands up to defend against the now-inevitable sock attack. “I’m just doing you a favor!”

“Yeah, right-” Yosuke grinned, throwing one sock; Souji deflected it, but the other sock made it past his guard and bounced off his shoulder. “Oh, come on! How are you gonna fight Shadows if you can’t even fight a sock?”

There was a pause, long enough that Souji risked lowering his hands. Yosuke was looking at the guitar again, a fond expression on his face; after a moment, he looked up and gave Souji a sheepish grin, that so-familiar earnest expression that Souji didn’t think anyone other than him ever saw. “Hey, um… thanks, partner. I, uh… never played for anybody before. Um. I’m glad, though. That it was you, I mean.”

Souji relaxed, smiling right back. “Me too,” he began-

-only to be hit squarely in the face by a rumpled washcloth. “Hey!”

“Gotcha!”

…In the end, Yosuke’s room wasn’t too much cleaner than it had been when they started… but that didn’t matter much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the good old tropes of the P4 fandom. Looking back, I still think this is pretty cute. (Also, "how can you fight a Shadow if you can't fight a sock" is hilariously dumb, in the best way.)


	12. Standing Still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Standing still." Souyo, true ending. Written in August 2012.

Standing still?

Yosuke usually doesn’t - in fact, Souji thinks he might actually be incapable of doing so. While it’s most obvious in the TV world, with the knife-tossing and moving to his music and all, that’s far from the only example. Souji knows - it’s impossible for him not to, sitting right in front of Yosuke in class. All the little foot-taps, pencil-drumming, and (once Yosuke got to know him) poking. If there isn’t a constant chorus of some kind of small noise coming from behind Souji’s desk… well, that means Yosuke’s fallen asleep.

Even then, he tends to twitch a bit - the shift of a foot here, a soft mumbling sound there. All of which Souji also knows, intimately. This is far from the first night he’s spent with Yosuke, the other boy draped over 90% of the futon, all lanky limbs and rumpled pyjamas, flung about heedless of the bedclothes or Souji’s own need to have a tiny bit of futon space for himself.

… Souji doesn’t mind, though, given that this might be the last night.

The weight of the suitcases and boxes in the corner is too much for him to sleep; he’s not entirely sure how Yosuke is managing it, other than sheer exhaustion. And because he’s Yosuke, of course, and Yosuke can sleep through every lecture at Yasogami High. With a quiet sigh, Souji curls around Yosuke, fitting into the spaces he’s been left to fill; Yosuke makes one of those little noises and curls back against him, just instinctively. A shock of hair falls over his face as he turns his head, still sleeping.

With a faint smile, Souji reaches out and brushes that hair back into place, fingertips ghosting over Yosuke’s forehead. He’ll remember this, no matter how far away from Inaba he ends up - this place, these friends, this boy. This moment in the silent darkness is all theirs, for all that Yosuke’s sleeping - Souji can’t bear to wake him up, not now. It’s too precious just the way it is.

So Souji leans forward, brushing a kiss against Yosuke’s slightly parted lips, then gently shifting Yosuke’s head back just enough to steal a tiny bit of pillow for himself. He manages to free a blanket too, fluffing it over both of them before settling back, nose-to-nose. Yes, he’ll remember this last bit of stillness, and carry it with him. Maybe someday he’ll even tell Yosuke about it…

But not now. Now is for sleep, and warmth, and those few precious hours left before the dawn.


End file.
